The other day, I was walking down Bradford Road in Stanningley when I observed a cyclist using the new cycleway.

As he approached the bus shelter by the end of Cote Lane he nearly ran into two lady pensioners who were at the bus stop.

They were talking to each other as pensioners do and took no notice of the cyclist til he nearly hit them. Neither was at fault but it struck me that it must have been an idiot who planned a cycle way BEHIND a bus stop.

What a dangerous thing to do. Where are the people who put the plan into operation and did they not bother to see how things progressed?

Sooner or later some poor old lady minding her own business is going to be killed or at the very least maimed.

Theresa May went missing during the European referendum, and left the fight for in and out to David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

The out vote has left these three men finished in politics whilst 199 Tory MPs seem to think that they have the right to crown Theresa May as the new Prime Minister.

The size of her vote pails into insignificance at the hundreds of thousands that voted for Jeremy Corbyn to be leader of the opposition.

Theresa May is no different than any other member of the current government. She has voted for cuts in services and austerity budgets which have incurred poverty on many people.

She voted against curbing pay day loans and against banking reform. In the past she has voted to increase VAT and against curbing energy prices in 2013.

She voted against building 100,000 affordable homes in 2013.

As Home secretary for the past six years police have seen their funding cut by £2.3 billion with the loss of 18,000 officers and 5,000 community support officers.

Working people can expect nothing more than the same old Tory policies.

I voted leave but I am not a racist

Neil Liversidge, by email

Leavers did not vote for the ugly face of hate crime.

Should those of us who exercised our democratic rights to vote for freedom and justice now expect to be smeared every time there’s a race-hate crime?

I joined the Anti-Nazi league as a founder member aged 13 at a meeting at Pontefract Town Hall in 1976. On two occasions as an anti-racist activist, in 1979 and 1983, I was violently assaulted by white racists. About ten years ago I assisted West Yorkshire Police in apprehending and successfully prosecuting the perpetrator of a race hate crime in Castleford.

On June 23, 2016 I voted to leave the EU, not because I am a racist, but because like the majority I want my country to be governed by elected representatives in Westminster not unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. I voted leave because I want the UK off the job-destroying Ponzi scheme that is the EU Titanic before it hits the political and economic iceberg toward which it is headed with its doomed currency, tanking GDP and stratospheric unemployment.

I also voted leave because I oppose EU trade barriers that help to keep the third world in poverty; a fact conveniently overlooked by the smug and elitist remainers.

Or perhaps it’s not overlooked at all? Perhaps they are completely ignorant of that fact as so many are obviously ignorant of relevant history.

The British people have plenty in common with the ordinary people of the EU, more than any of us have in common with our pro-EU politicians. Paradoxically the people of Europe have little whatsoever in common with the likes of the delusional Jean-Claude Juncker and his gang.

The skids are under them already and they’re sweating. The UK has been the first to declare that the Emperor has no clothes and to decline to pay the tailor’s bill.

Back to square one?

Nigel Bywater, Morley

Is economy back to square one?

I was very interested to read an article by Andrea Jenkyns about the effects of the referendum result on London’s stock market.

She stated that the FTSE 250 fell more at the chance of Ed Miliband winning the 2015 election. That would be very interesting, if it were true.

After the 2015 general election, the large energy companies shares did rise by around two per cent; knowing that the Conservatives would ignore the big six energy companies’ massive profits.

Centrica - owner of British Gas - leapt seven per cent.

The result of the EU referendum led to dramatic falls in both the FTSE 100, dominated by international-based stocks, and the FTSE 250.

While the FTSE 100 quickly recovered; the FTSE 250, dominated by UK-based stocks, is still markedly down.

Banking and house building stocks are among the worst hit, with the Bank of England ready to pump money into the banks, once again.

With the prospect of more quantitative easing from the Bank of England, it seems that we are back to square one - more austerity.

Call for more flexibility

Mervyn Jones, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Housing

Rural Housing Week (11 – 17 July 2016) is highlighting the importance of providing a range of homes, including affordable housing options, in rural areas.

It celebrates housing associations helping local people continue to live in rural areas and the role that the right mix of housing has in keeping amenities such as, schools, shops, post offices and pubs open.

However there is more to do – Yorkshire Housing is calling on the government to offer more flexibility to housing associations with funding, so we can deliver the types of home that are needed.

We wholeheartedly support the Government’s efforts to encourage home ownership. We know that high housing costs in many rural areas puts home ownership out of reach for a lot of people, and there is also a need for good quality affordable homes to rent. We may see a downturn in the economy and a slowdown in housebuilding in the months ahead.

Giving housing associations the freedom to build homes for rent will also keep construction workers in jobs and boost rural economies.

Celebrity spotting

R Kimble, Hawksworth

I note that there is a Celebrity Worst Job programme scheduled on TV this next week. Is this how low it sinks?

All through Wimbledon we had the “celebrity spotting” on camera as well as from Sue Barker actually pointing people out to the crowd.

Do we really need to know what awful jobs some of these people allegedly had?

Some people have whole lifetimes stuck in jobs they don’t like particularly but dare not leave. I find it tiresome and pointless.

Returning to Wimbledon and the letter by Malcolm Shedlow, my patience is worn thin by the male grunting, the female screeching, the bouncing the tennis ball numerous times before serving.

Lack of sportsmanship

Anthony Craven, by email

Whilst admiring the amazing skill of so many of the finest footballers in Europe, I am left with the disturbing realisation that too many showed complete lack of honesty and sportsmanship.

Hardly a game was played without at least a yellow card being given to one or more for serious infringements of the rules.

These are supposed to be role models for our young people, their praises sung by parents and other adults! I lost count of openly pushing opponents and pulling their shirts and even holding onto them with both hands, especially in goal-mouth situations. When reprimanded by the referee, offenders complained, holding arms out in disbelief that their behaviour could in any way be seen as unacceptable.

Even the commentators occasionally remarked how someone made a cynical tackle. ‘Cynical!’ As often as not the player tackled could have been so badly injured as to put his career at risk if not ended. Then there are those who deliberately fling themselves down looking for a penalty! Is there anything more despicable?